Be bored. The art of doing nothing has been lost in the fray of the day-to-day digital reality. All I see now is the innate compulsion to distract oneself whenever there is a moment of solitude. A moment of such quiet where you can hear the exhale of the world around you. Therein lies the secret stuff. The good stuff. The hidden gemstone of knowledge the great thinkers of old mined from. The intangible source where the greatest artists discovered ideas and sounds and philosophies that pushed humanity forward into a deeper realm of self-actualization.
Why is that the culture today seems so stagnant. So replete with hallow rip-offs and interpretations of brilliant work from twenty, or thirty years ago. You know what I speak of. Some of it is obvious. Some, you can just sense. Like a person you see on the street and know they should be avoided. There’s no deep thought to the work. There’s no true awareness that stands out. It’s exposed in the lack of nuanced detail. No one’s truly dialed in anymore. They gave it away freely, like Halloween candy, to apps that leave you feeling empty in return.
What those apps didn’t tell you was there’s always a trade-off. Get the cheap serotonin hit but lose out on your mind drifting into a mode that acts as the stairway to pure creativity. A place where past, present, future, dreams, fears, and imagination mix, leaving only the ingredient of quiet solitude to make it all come together. And maybe turn it into something unique. Something original. We live off of the remains of artists who created worlds so big, so vast, so thoughtful and so poignant, They still act as tentpoles for us. All came from nothing but their own minds.
And now what? You go on with your day, any moment where you’re not doing something, you make sure to fill it with doing something. Instagram reels during a break at work? Maybe at your desk? YouTube videos while driving? Netflix in the background while not even watching it? Passively being active? What about actively doing nothing.
What if, during a moment where nothing is happening or you’re not engaged, you just stay in it? Do nothing. Allow yourself to be in it. Where will your mind go to? What will come up. An old memory. A new idea. A past issue you suppressed that you don’t want to confront? I dare you to try it. See if you can handle it.
Or don’t. And never know what could be discovered…